MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team is moving on to the Northeast-10 Conference championship game this Saturday, thanks to a one-point victory over nationally-ranked Bentley University on Wednesday in the league's semifinal round.
Saint Anselm, the No. 2 seed in the NE10 postseason, improves to 21-7 following the 71-70 victory and has a date with fourth-seeded New Haven (20-9) on Saturday, Mar. 4. The Hawks will host that game with a start time to be determined by the conference by noon on Thursday.
The Hawks trailed Bentley (21-6) by as many as 13 points in the first half but came roaring back, thanks to 22 second-half points from junior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.). Saint Anselm was led by a career-high 32 from Becker, who was helped out offensively by senior Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) and his 25 points.
Senior Miles Tention (Palo Alto, Calif.) dished out 10 assists with nine points and five rebounds to his credit. Classmate Owen McGlashan (Marlton, N.J.) had six rebounds and two steals and senior Matt Relihan (Lynnfield, Mass.) provided eight rebounds off the bench.
The Hawks remain in search of their 10th NE10 postseason title and are set to make their 15th appearance in the conference's championship game on Saturday. New Haven, who dominated top-seeded Southern New Hampshire at the Stan Spirou Field House earlier this evening, will play the Hawks in a rematch of the league's 2020 title game, won by Saint Anselm.
Bentley opened up a 20-9 advantage over Saint Anselm in the game's first eight-plus minutes as the Falcons took flight offensively, making nine of their first 15 shots. The Hawks were cool from distance, missing their first five treys and collecting just four total baskets on 11 chances.
Saint Anselm trimmed the Bentley lead to just three points, 25-22, near the midpoint of the opener, but a brisk 12-2 spurt by the Falcons created the game-high bulge of 13 points with 5:19 remaining in the first half.
Down by 10 late in the first, Saint Anselm flipped the script between the first and second halves with an 18-1 scoring run that saw Bentley net its one point at the charity stripe. The Falcons were a combined 0-for-7 from the field and turned the ball over three times – Arbuckle posted 10 of his team's 18 points in that span.
Bentley struck back, answering the Hawks' dominant offense stretch with a 15-4 run of its own, setting Saint Anselm back by a 57-50 score with 11:16 left in regulation time.
Not to be outdone, the Hawks took the lead for good with a 21-6 run that was keyed by 14 points from Becker. Saint Anselm was a combined 7-for-11 from the floor in that run, pouring home five triples, while Bentley just couldn't keep pace, missing six shots.
The Falcons scored the final seven points of the game, trimming the Hawks lead to a 71-70 margin with 1:58 to go. Both teams combined to miss their final three free throws, all one-and-ones, and the Hawks missed their last three attempts from the floor.
Further cementing the Hawks win was a pivotal turnover by Bentley on an inbound play with three seconds left and a last-second heave followed a missed one-and-one by the Hawks – the shot from beyond half court did not make the rim, propelling Saint Anselm back to the NE10 championship game.
